Mind-Body Skills Groups for Behavioral and Emotional Problems in War-Traumatized Male Adolescents in Gaza

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Problem Behavior; Aggression
• Interventions: Behavioral: Mind-Body Skills Groups

• Registration Number: NCT02671487
• Lead Sponsor: The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether war-traumatize male adolescents with behavioral and emotional problems who participate in mind-body skills groups will have improvement in behavioral and emotional problems, aggression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, compared to a wait list control group.

Detailed Description

Mind-body skills incorporate meditation, guided imagery, breathing techniques, autogenic training, biofeedback, genograms, and self-expression through words, drawings, and movement in a small group setting. These groups have been used in war-traumatize populations in Kosovo, Gaza and the United States. This study will be investigating the effect of the mind-body skills groups on boys with behavioral and emotional problem at a high school in Gaza to determine if there is improvement in behavioral and emotional problems, aggression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The results will be compared to a control high school with boys who will not be attending mind-body skills groups and who have experienced similar levels of trauma and also have behavioral and emotional problems.

The mind-body skills groups will be held for 2 hours once a week for 10 weeks and then once a month for 10 months. Measures will be taken at baseline, after the 10 week mind-body skills group program and again at 10 month follow-up.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2016-01
• Study First Submitted: 2016-01-26
• Study First Submitted QC: 2016-01-29
• Study First Posted: 2016-02-02
• Primary Completion: 2017-02
• Study Completion: 2017-03
• Status Verified: 2018-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-07-16
• Last Update Posted: 2018-07-18

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Male
• Target Recruitment: 115

Inclusion Criteria

• Criteria for eligibility for the study will include having a baseline self-reported score of 18 points or higher on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire which indicates high to very high levels of emotional and behavioral problems

Exclusion Criteria

• None

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Mind-Body Skills Groups	Mind-Body Skills Groups	Mind-body skills groups will be administered for 2 hours once a week for 10 weeks and then once a month for 10 months.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire	Change from Baseline to 10 month follow-up after the program ends	The 25 item Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) measures behavioral and emotional function. These 25 items are divided into 5 subscales: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behavior. The SDQ is scored on a 3 point Likert-type scale with the responses "not true, "somewhat true", and "certainly true". Total SDQ scores include all the subscales except the prosocial scale.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The Aggression Questionnaire	Change from Baseline to 10 month follow-up after the program ends	Aggression will be measured using the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) which is a revision of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory that has been widely used to measure aggression. The AQ consists of 34 items scored on a 5 point Likert-type scale with responses ranging from "not at all like me" to "completely like me". The AQ has the following subscales: physical aggression,verbal aggression, anger, hostility, and indirect aggression.
PTSD Checklist-5	Change from Baseline to 10 month follow-up after the program ends	Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms will be measured using the PTSD Checklist-5 (PCL-5). PCL-5 is a a self-report measure that assesses 20 symptoms of PTSD. The rating scale is 0-4 for each symptom with responses ranging from "Not at all," "A little bit," Moderately," "Quite a bit," to "Extremely."

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine; 🇵🇸 Gaza City, Remal Area, Palestinian Territory, occupied